This month I asked ’90s, “What book from your Dartmouth academic career comes to mind first?” Here is Part I your responses. Jessica Silver writes, “Things Fall Apart, of course, because it was the first book I had to read for college and I was so nervous!” Kyrie Robinson writes, “Jews Without Money was the book for my freshman seminar. I was wholly unaware of the stereotypes about Jewish people and wealth. I had grown up singing along with Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof as pretty much my only entree into Jewish culture and stereotypes. I still remember the professor probing the class about the title of the book and having no earthly idea what she was talking about.” Michael Cohenuram writes, “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test for Bruce Nelson’s freshman seminar, ‘The History of the 60s.’ ” Wendy Whitcomb writes, “Paradise Lost, from ‘English 5.’ This was the first time that I had to read something that felt completely over my head. And it was probably one of the few times that I had to resort to CliffsNotes to gain a minimal understanding of the material and scrape together a paper where I felt I had no idea what I was talking about—not a great feeling when you’re starting college and wondering if you belong there. I’m glad things got better the next semester.” Laurin Grollman writes, “I wish I could say something more erudite came to mind, but nope—the Over the Hill face book, which I still use as a reference.” Deborah Greene-LaRoche writes, “Definitely Don Quixote, parts 1 and 2 and the spurious sequel—all part of a memorable Cervantes course I took as part of my Spanish lit major. I especially loved the metafiction of Part 2.” Susan Hirt writes, “Professor Henricks’ new translation of the Tao Te Ching, which he taught to our class even before the book was officially released. Though I did not major in religion, I appreciated his elucidation of Taoism and its poetic foundation text. What a privilege to explore so many diverse topics and be guided by the best scholars in their fields.” Jonathan Weatherly writes, “El Principe Destronado (The Dethroned Prince) by Miguel Delibes, which I got to read during my language study abroad program in Granada, Spain. Such a cute story of a first child who is dethroned when his younger sibling comes along. By the way, my daughter, Madison ’19, tells me her reunion is the same time as ours, so I look forward to seeing you all then.” Mark Sternman writes, “Before exams in one of the freshman year semesters, I read the novel On the Beach by Nevil Shute. Greatly moved by the dramatization of life after nuclear war, I eventually pursued a master’s in international security policy and a career in arms control before moving to Boston and working on domestic policies.” Judi Cassel writes, “Pierre; or, the Ambiguities by Herman Melville. Instead, we should have read Moby Dick, which was a favorite pandemic read of mine. Tom Thompson, what do you think?” David Jacobs writes, “I still haven’t read Things Fall Apart.”

—Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com